Marta Ptaszynska
Composer, percussionist, educator
Born Jul. 29, 1943, Warsaw, Poland; came to U.S., 1972; daughter of Juliusz and Romana (Solyga); married Andrew Rafalski; child: Julie.
Education: Master of Arts (M.A.), Music Academy, Warsaw, 1967,1968; Cleveland Institute of Music, (OH), 1974.
Career: assistant prof., Music Academy, Warsaw, 1970-72; prof., Bennington College (VT), 1974-77, and University of California, Berkeley, 1977-78; prof. and composer-in-residence, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1978-80; visiting prof., University of Indiana, Bloomington, 1984-85, and Northwestern University, Evanston (IL), 1993-94; composer and free-lance percussionist, 1986 -; composer-in-residence, College Conservatory of Music, Cincinnati (OH), 1994-95.
Author: numerous compositions, i.a.: Space Model, 1971, Oscar of Alva, 1972, Siderals, 1974, Epigrams, 1977, Un Grand Sommeil Noir, 1977, Dream Lands, Magic Spaces, 1979, Sonnets to Orpheus, 1980, La Novella d'lnverno, 1984, Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra, 1985, Moon Flowers, 1986, Polish Letters, 1988, Holocaust Memorial Cantata, 1991, Alla Polacca, 1992; numerous articles in: Ruch Muzyczny (Poland), and Percussive Notes; juror at several national composition contests in United States, since 1978.
Member of: American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers; Percussive Arts Society (board directors member, 1981-84); vice president, American Society for Polish Music.
Honors: special mention for the opera Oscar of Alva, Polish Radio and Television (RTV,) 1972; compositional awards, Percussive Artists Society, 1974, 1976; 2nd prize, International Rostrum of Composers in Paris, 1986; special award, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), 1986; medal, Polish Composers Union, Warsaw, 1988.
Affiliation: Catholic.
Languages: Polish, English, French, German, Russian.
Hobbies: painting, theater, philosophy.
Office: Theodore Presser Company, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010.
From: "Who's Who in Polish America" 1st Edition 1996-1997, Boleslaw Wierzbianski editor; Bicentennial Publishing Corporation,
New York, NY, 1996.